These two have separated themselves in the SEC of Kentucky high school soccer

Since 2012 — when the 11th Region in boys’ soccer began to better resemble basketball’s 11th Region — only two teams have represented the region in the state tournament: Henry Clay and Paul Laurence Dunbar.

If the 11th Region is the Southeastern Conference football of Kentucky boys’ soccer, as some around Lexington like to profess, then Dunbar is its Alabama and Henry Clay its Florida.

Despite the absurd depth of the region — one could argue this is something of a “down year” and still six of its teams are in the Maher Rankings’ top 25 — the Blue Devils and Bulldogs have separated themselves from the pack. Impressive challengers have stepped up: Lafayette last season rode a strong senior class to arguably its best year ever only to come up short; Madison Central has proven formidable in recent years but hasn’t been able to reach the finals; Woodford County under Fonyam Atanga has gotten to the big game but been unable to win it.

Continuity plays a massive role for Dunbar and Henry Clay. Dunbar’s had the same head coach — Todd Bretz, the state’s all-time wins leader — since the school opened in 1990, and assistant coach John O’Hara is in his 24th season helping the team. Henry Clay head coach Jason Behler was an assistant with the program for 13 years before assuming the reins from Tim Bernardi in 2016. Behler’s playing background also provided a strong foundation; he graduated in 1999 from Covington Catholic, where he played under John Horton — the man Bretz passed for the all-time wins record.

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That was in the fourth minute of action. The rest of the game was played mostly away from the nets, each team coming up with just a few good shot opportunities (including a potential game-tying rebound that Henry Clay would have loved to have had another crack at) the rest of the way.

“All in all, both teams didn’t create many chances,” Henry Clay’s Behler said. “Both teams battled in the midfield. Box-to-box is where most of the game was played, not in the boxes.”

Behler said Tuesday’s game was the first time this year that the Blue Devils hadn’t “destroyed a team in the midfield.” Dunbar’s middle line was stout, and Henry Clay had a starter (Phillip Allison) sidelined with a broken hand suffered against Tates Creek.

Allison brings a “work ethic and level of calm” to the midfield that wasn’t necessarily lacking against Dunbar, Behler said, but his consistency was missed.

“He never plays outside of himself and just works his butt off for 80 minutes, and we’re a different team without him,” Behler said.

“He’s been a little banged up but he’s starting to get healthy again. When he’s on, he’s tough to beat,” Bretz said with a grin.

Inevitable rematch?

Coming into the season it was expected for Dunbar and Henry Clay to be the leaders in the city and 11th Region. Those expectations have played out on the field so far — Henry Clay’s loss to Dunbar was the first suffered by either of the two teams in 2017 — but what each looks like in October won’t be what they looked like the last week of August.

“It’s early. We both returned several good, core players and that helps you early on,” Bretz said. “Now it’s ‘Where do you go from here?’ They’ve got the same core from last year that did really well and probably should’ve beat us in the regional tournament. Where we go from now is gonna be the big question.”

Behler spoke in a similar refrain after Dunbar beat the Blue Devils on Tuesday.

“It is what it is. If you played that game three more times, it would be three different results. Probably would have a win for us and a tie,” Behler said. “I don’t think there’s a whole lot (of difference) between these two teams.”

One has ended the other’s season the last four years. Right now, there’s little reason to believe that won’t be the case in 2017.

Henry Clay defender Vincent Lopiccolo #17 passes the ball against Paul Laurence Dunbar during the boy's soccer match at Henry Clay High School in Lexington, Ky., on Tuesday, August 29, 2017.